Scottsdale: A Playground in the Old West

IT'S not hard to understand why children like visiting Phoenix and Scottsdale, central Arizona's marquee cities, conjoined by Scottsdale Road. Scottsdale calls itself the West's most Western town, and the entire area is chock-full of hotels outfitted with water slides and swimming pools.

Fortunately, parents on the lookout for child-friendly entertainment that adults can tolerate have plenty of choice. Besides superb cultural institutions celebrating the Southwest, outdoor entertainments abound. Nature lovers need venture no farther than central Phoenix, which has its own mountain preserve and South Mountain Park, which at more than 16,000 acres is sometimes called the world's largest municipal park. And though car time is inevitable -- the cities cover 698 square miles -- just turn up the air-conditioner and let the kids gaze out the window. After all, how often do they get to play "I-spy-with-my-little-eye a five-armed saguaro?"

CULTURE

Yes, the area's child-simpatico cultural institutions abound with treasures, but as a bonus, several of the best offer a subliminal primer in 20th-century architecture. A classic 1920's Mission-style building with stucco walls and a tile roof houses the stellar collection of American Indian artifacts at the Heard Museum (2301 North Central Avenue, Phoenix; 602-252-8848; www.heard.org; admission $10, $3 for children ages 6 to 12). The heart-wrenching exhibition on the government-run Indian schools will touch grade-school children. And when younger children tire of the kachina dolls and baskets, deposit them in the courtyard where they can pound corn into meal.

The low stone buildings Frank Lloyd Wright created in Scottsdale from 1937 to 1939 for Taliesin West, his Arizona home and school, will fascinate older children. Budding pianists can even try out the Steinway grand tucked into a wall of the cool, cavelike concert hall. Taliesin West is at 12621 North Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard (480-860-2700; www.franklloydwright.org). Tours start at $18; $5 for ages 4 to 12.

Visitors to the eight-year-old concrete-and-steel Arizona Science Center (600 East Washington, Street, Phoenix; 602-716-2000; www.azscience.org) descend into the earth to reach the planetarium. There are also a movie theater with a five-story screen and more than 350 enticing hands-on exhibitions. Admission is $9; $7 for ages 3 to 12. Adults add $5 for a planetarium show (children, $4). and $7 for the movies (children, $6).

Sunscreen is mandatory for a visit to the two institutions in sprawling Papago Park in Phoenix, 1,200 acres of rolling desert punctuated by hiking trails and the famed Hole-in-the-Rock, a natural landmark straight out of the Flintstones. At the Phoenix Zoo (455 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix; 602-273-1341; www.phoenixzoo.org; admission $14, $6 for ages 3 to 12), the 1,300 animals include endangered exotics like the Sumatran tiger and local creatures, like the pronghorn, the horned animal that can go 60 miles an hour. Little ones will adore the monkey village, the Harmony Farm petting area and a new endangered species carousel (rides $2), featuring the Asian elephant zebra and the white rhino.

The Desert Botanical Garden (1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix; 480-941-1225; www.dbg.org) is no petting zoo, but the aptly named organ pipe, octopus and pleated cactuses are worth a close look. So too are the astonishing desert succulents, plump as pillows. The garden provides young visitors with checklists for identifying plants. Admission is $9, $4 for ages 3 to 12.

The Old West, theme-park style, is alive and well at Rawhide (5700 North Loop Road, Chandler; 480-502-5600; www.rawhide.com; free admission, but rides and attractions are $2 to $5), a fanciful 34-year-old reconstruction of a Western town that reopened in new and expanded digs at the Gila River Indian Community last month. Ride a camel or a burro, visit the petting zoo, pan for gold, then tuck into steak, chicken or rattlesnake, the house specialty, at the Steakhouse.

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Amusements don't come much more relaxed than McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park (7301 East Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale; 480-312-2312; www.therailroadpark.com; free admission, all rides $1). This refreshing expanse of green is ideal for a picnic and boasts two playgrounds. Don't miss the compact Railroad Museum ($1 admission, free for children under 13) set in a baggage car and in the fabled 1928 Pullman car used for whistle stops by every president from Hoover to Eisenhower. An ice cream cone from Hartley's General Store makes a grand finale.

MEAL TIME

A hip setting with exposed brick and steel beams belies the bambino-friendly atmosphere at North (1504 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale; 480-948-2055), a laid-back nouvelle-Italian restaurant in the stylish Kierland Commons shopping center. If little ones balk at lasagna filled with chicken, shiitake mushrooms and tomatoes ($12), plain pasta with butter or olive oil is always an option.

La Hacienda at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess (7575 East Princess Drive, Scottsdale; 480-585-4848) is a grown-up Mexican restaurant with cool white walls, strolling mariachi bands and a sophisticated menu that includes ancho chiles stuffed with wood-roasted chicken ($9), and suckling pig ($29). But children can try the chicken fajitas ($7.25) and hamburgers ($7).

The area's shopping centers offer nearly foolproof hunting grounds for family restaurants. The Good Egg, a cheery breakfast chain, is found in 12 shopping centers including Ancala Village (11162 Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, 480-657-3809), East Thunderbird Square (13802 North Scottsdale Road, 480-483-1090) and Hilton Village (6149 North Scottsdale Road, 480-991-5416). Children are welcomed with crayons and offerings like Mickey Mouse pancakes (whipped cream whiskers and a butter nose, $3.95). Grown-ups can sample the Wildcat Scramble ($7.95) -- eggs, tortillas, chorizo and chilis.

NIGHT TIME

Though the 738-room Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa (2400 East Missouri Avenue, Phoenix; 800-950-0086; www.arizonabiltmore.com) has a luminous history -- Irving Berlin supposedly wrote "White Christmas" by the pool -- children are courted with kids' menus, cooking classes, yoga, golf, hikes, eight swimming pools and a water slide. The canvas-draped Kids Korral play area features a "floating stones" jungle gym, a loop climber and picnic area. Double rooms start at $295 in the winter high season.

A full-scale playground with monkey bars, swings and a sandbox beckon young guests at the relaxed 378-room Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort (5401 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale; 877-445-6677; www.paradisevalleydoubletree.com). Children can borrow toys and games from the lending desk. Double rooms from $199 in winter

Spacious guest rooms, four pools (one of them a wading area), a fishing pond and a towering double water slide are among the amenities at the sprawling pink 651-room Fairmont Scottsdale Princess (7575 East Princess Drive, Scottsdale; 480-585-4848; www.fairmont.com). The Kids Club playroom provides free daily drop-off activities, including supervised arts and crafts, games and swimming, and a lounge for teenagers has XBox games, Internet access, plasma television and a Sony listening station. Double rooms from $479 in winter.